The Bi-Weekly Newsletter of the Council of Industry
October 7, 2021
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Manufacturing Industry News
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2021 Hudson Valley Manufacturers Wage & Benefits Survey Is NOW OPEN
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The Manufacturers Wage & Benefit Survey is now ready for you to complete! Your participation provides great insight for your company, the Council of Industry and your peer organizations. The survey is co-sponsored by Rose & Kiernan and Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions.
Full results are only available to participating companies.
Through your participation, we will learn more about the local manufacturing industry. and you will have answers to an array of questions such as:
- What are machinists earning?
- What about industrial engineers or electronics technicians?
- How much are you planning to raise wages in 2022?
- What percent of healthcare premium do employers pay?
- What do tuition reimbursement policies look like?
Results also help the Council of Industry shape public investment in economic development and workforce development programs and other public policy issues.
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Council of Industry's "HV MFG" Magazine Coming Soon
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This month, the Council of Industry will release its Fall 2021 edition of "HV Mfg" in print and online. The magazine will feature articles on food manufacturer Crepini, the labor market, New York State’s energy future, Westchester County's apprenticeship initiatives. Also featured will be the leader profile on John Malmgreen, career profile on Brenda Schaffer, news briefs, resource guide and more!
Watch your inbox and mailbox for your copy of HV Mfg in October!
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ISM Manufacturing Index Stays Strong in September Despite Supply-Chain Stress
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The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index rose to 61.1% in September from 59.9% in the prior month, the trade group said Friday, the highest reading since May. Demand is still strong but manufacturers are struggling with supply shortages. Survey participants talked about an “unprecedented number of hurdles to meet” rising demand. Seventeen industries reported growth in September while only one reported a decrease. Seventeen industries also reported an increase in prices.
- The new orders index held steady at 66.7% in September. Production slipped 0.6 percentage point to 59.4%.
- Employment inched up 1.2% to barely above the growth mark at 50.2.
- The index on prices rose 1.8 percentage points to 81.2%
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For information on advertising in this and other CI publications
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The Supply-Chain Mystery: Labor, Weather, COVID, Brexit, Semiconductors...You Pick
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Supply-chain trouble suggests that something is off with the way we’re operating in the world,and that we don’t yet know the extent of our vulnerabilities. The issues can also be a serious impediment to a broader economic recovery. What’s often at the heart of a supply-chain issue is a labor issue. Last week, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were approaching a crisis state because more than seventy containerships were idling offshore-there aren’t enough dockworkers to unload their cargo, or enough truck drivers to move it out of the ports. (Shipping rates have spiked, too.) Labor shortages are the reason that so many things just seem to be in the wrong.The labor situation is no doubt related to COVID-19, but there is wide disagreement about exactly how.
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The Cost Benefit to Manufacturing in China Just Isn’t There Anymore
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None of the information presented at a major industrial conference in Shandong, China provided much solace to the attending industrial companies. Along with their American counterparts, all have suffered through the trade dispute between the two countries, as well as from COVID-19 related disruptions. Many larger industrial companies have attempted to provide some level of assistance to their suppliers; however, there was no government assistance or support of any kind. These problems have recently been compounded by recent regional lockdowns due to recurring COVID-19 outbreaks.
The overall end-result is that China has lost about 20% of its industrial-sector companies over the last three years. One question at the conference was dominant: “How can the Americans still afford to buy from China?” As an example, a questioner said his company had an American customer for components that spent about $100,000 a month on their parts, but over the last 18 months, “they have been spending more than that on air freight.” Many others confirmed that they had seen similar situations with their U.S.-based customers.
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6 Strategies to Help Your Company Weather Inflation
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Companies are scrambling to deal with increasing commodity prices, supply constraints, and higher wages caused by labor shortages. In the first half of 2021, the producer price index (PPI) rose 10% in the G7 countries. The PPI measures the prices of goods immediately postproduction and serves as a critical indicator of the pressure facing companies. The last time the world saw a similar bump in PPI was in in the first half of 2008, the early months of the Great Recession.
Companies that weathered that storm the best took decisive steps to counter rising inflation by pushing through price increases consistent with PPI—but that alone was not enough. The best performers also took significant steps to boost productivity, primarily by cutting costs. But what are the steps that typically make a difference?
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Reforming Merger Reviews to Preserve Creative Destruction
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Antitrust reformers in the administration and Congress are pressing for radical constraints on mergers based on claims that market concentration has increased and enforcement has been too lax, ergo existing merger laws must be inadequate.The FTC also has withdrawn its approval for a set of vertical merger guidelines it issued jointly with the Justice Department in July 2020, and it has released findings of a new inquiry into acquisitions that the country’s five largest technology companies have made in the past but were not required to report. Contrary to the FTC’s new position, this report demonstrates how the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines were valuable and needed further improvements rather than being withdrawn rashly. This report also explains that competition concerns arising out of unreported acquisitions are largely exaggerated, given that the FTC itself has failed to demonstrate how the acquisitions it has pointed to as examples have reduced competition or harmed society by shutting down innovations.
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NAM, Others Battle PRO Act
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Throughout the summer, the NAM and our labor and employment policy partners in Washington continued to keep up the pressure campaign on Capitol Hill against further legislative action on the PROAct. Efforts focused primarily on maintaining the Senate firewall against ultimate passage of the bill. Proponents of the policy, however, are attempting to use the expansive reconciliation package to include some components of the PRO Act through the broader budget process. Recently, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee voted for new legislative language including an above-the-line tax deduction for union dues, and the House Education and Labor Committee marked up their portion of the bill to include new NLRB enforcement provisions, prohibitions on employer responses to striking employees, and disallowing employer education efforts during union drives. A breakdown of those legislative provisions can be found here.
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Understanding the New and Expanded Employee Retention Credit
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The employee retention credit (ERC) was already a strong potential tax-saver. Passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) took a good thing and made it better. In this article, we explain the ERC, how the 2021 law made the credit better and how employers can take advantage of it.The ERC was originally passed as part of the coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act (CARES) to encourage employers, including medical practices, to retain employees through a shutdown and/or business downturn due to COVID-19. It was a way to reward employers for keeping employees off the unemployment rolls. Originally, it allowed an employer to take a refundable credit of 50% of eligible wages of up to $10,000 per employee. Wages paid from March 12, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020, were eligible.
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What's Happening in Your Association
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Hatfield Metal Fab's Open House
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On October 1, Hatfield Metal hosted an Open House for MFG Day. The company provided tours and displays for students, teachers, and faculty to learn more about local manufacturing and career opportunities in the field.
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Sono-Tek Hosts Marlboro High School Students
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MHS students celebrated MFG Day by attending Sono-Tek's headquarters to learn about the possibilities of manufacturing.
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Viking Industries to Host WKIP Radio Show
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When: Friday, October 15 - from 6:00 - 9:00 am
Click here to tune in to Hudson Valley Focus Live's broadcast from Viking Industries to celebrate Manufacturing Day on WKIP!
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2021 NY Statewide Virtual Manufacturing Day
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When: Friday, October 15, 8:15 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Online
2021 NY Statewide Virtual Manufacturing Day is an on-line event that will celebrate manufacturers from across New York State and highlight the pathways students can take toward manufacturing careers.
By recognizing NYS manufacturers and building awareness of available educational and training opportunities, 2021 NY Statewide Virtual Manufacturing Day will benefit companies, community leaders, educators, high school and college students as well as economic development and manufacturing associations from across New York State.
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Date: Saturday, October 23, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: Goshen High School Coliseum (222 Scotchtown Ave, Goshen, NY 10924)
Cost: Free
Join Goshen High School for its first annual Science,Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) day, highlighting Women of STEAM and Industry. The event is open to the public, admission is free, and there will be food trucks.
The high school is seeking local professionals, schools, and companies in the STEAM fields, including Manufacturing, Trades, Engineering, Architecture, Design, Medical Fields, Artists, Business Owners, Technology, and other related areas! The professionals involved would have a 'booth' where they can show off visuals, have displays, and give out information.
Students will have the opportunity to network with professionals in attendance to learn about the different career paths and what the businesses have to offer. The fair will showcase different technology/STEAM programs at various high schools. Whether that be you come and bring something you built, have a visual display, or come up with a competition for participants to do at the event.
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Council of Industry Annual Luncheon & Member/Associate Member Expo
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The Annual Luncheon & Member /Associate Member Expo will be held on Friday, November 19th starting at 11:30 am at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY.
When: Friday, November 19th, 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Where: The Grandview, Poughkeepsie, NY
Cost: $65 per person, $575 for a table of ten
We will recognize the 2020 and 2021 Manufacturing Champions.
The Member/ Associate Member Expo will precede the luncheon from 11:30 - 12:15. There is no charge to be part of the expo but we do ask that participants purchase two seats at the luncheon.
The Council of Industry seeks supporting sponsors for the luncheon. By becoming a sponsor, your company logo will be on promotional pieces as soon as you commit.
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The Manufacturing Matters Podcast
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Manufacturing Matters Podcast: Sriram Vilayanoor
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In this episode Harold King speaks with Sri Vilayanoor, Founder and President of Ignition Life Solutions, a strategic planning and development consulting, auditing and training firm.
Ignition’s areas of expertise span innovation & growth, operational excellence and quality management systems. They focus on firms in the automotive, aerospace/defense, medical devices, and healthcare industries.
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